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Clodfelter sets U.S. pole vault record for age group
CLEVELAND — A six-hour wait and a sore wrist could have ruined Chet Clodfelter’s day at the Pan American Masters Track & Field Championships on Sunday.
Instead, the Greencastle man emerged as the American pole vault record holder for his age group and the top-ranked vaulter among men 60-64 headed into the 2024 World Masters Athletic Championships next month in Sweden.
In clearing the height of 4.12 meters (13 feet, 6.25 inches), Clodfelter set a new American standard for men age 60-64 in the event.
Heading into the competition at Baldwin Wallace University, Clodfelter really like the venue and the conditions.
“I was really looking forward to these conditions,” Clodfelter said. “I had jumped there once before about 10 years ago.”
Then came the waiting. Clodfelter was out on the field at 8 a.m. to assist with the women’s competition. Then three groups of men had to cycle through before Chet’s age group came up about 2 p.m.
“So you’re hanging around, you’re laying around and doing a lot of waiting,” Clodfelter said.
Then when it came time to warm up, Clodfelter discovered another issue.
“When I picked up my pole, my wrist started hurting a lot,” he told the Banner Graphic.
The problem was with a ligament in Clodfelter’s good wrist. Fortunately, he’s made his career as a physical therapist, so he worked on wrapping it until he got it just right.
“I was able to jump a little better with less pain,” he said.
With that reduction in pain, Clodfelter managed to best his competitors with a jump of 12 feet. Afterward, he told them to take it up more than 18 inches to the American record.
He knew he was close after the first attempt.
“I thought, ‘Holy cow, that was close. I just knocked it off my hip on the way over,’” Clodfelter said.
The second attempt was even closer, with the crossbar bouncing twice on the uprights before falling off.
With each failed attempt, the bar had to be taken down and the height measured again for accuracy. After the wait, Clodfelter found success on his final trial.
“In the third attempt, I just had a really good jump and was able to make it,” Clodfelter said.
The record was made even more special by the fact that it had been held by Gary Hunter, a longtime friend and mentor of Clodfelter’s.
“He was there, and it was like he was passing it off to me,” Clodfelter said.
Hunter was indeed there, winning the men’s 65-69 competition at a height of 10 feet, 10 inches.
As special as the torch passing from Hunter might have been, Clodfelter got to share it with his wider pole vaulting family.
“There’s a contingency of all these pole vaulters who meet at all these events,” Clodfelter said. “We just get to see each other twice, maybe three or four times a year. It’s like your family — your pole vault family. And you just thank everybody who helped you do it.
“I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve won nationals every time I compete,” he added. “I’m just fortunate that I set an American record, and hopefully that will stay there for a while.”
Also of special note, Clodfelter had the chance to meet legendary pole vaulter Sergey Bubka and, in the process, make a connection to another of his mentors from the past.
Bubka, a Ukrainian who set the world pole vault record on 35 different occasions between indoor and outdoor, served as master of ceremonies for the event.
“I met him the night before and got some autographs and pictures with him,” Clodfelter explained.
Probably the most special of these was a plaque that formerly belonged to Noel Ruebel, Clodfelter’s coach at Purdue. The plaque contains a quote from Bubka: “If not me, who? If not now, when?” It then lists Bubka’s career accomplishments before concluding “Any questions?”
Ruebel was more than a coach to Clodfelter. Besides helping coach him to a Big Ten championship in 1985, he remained lifelong friends with the Putnam County native and North Putnam graduate, even standing up with Clodfelter at his wedding.
When Ruebel passed away from pancreatic cancer two years ago, his widow passed a number of his possessions on to Clodfelter, including the Bubka plaque.
Clodfelter now plans to display the autographed plaque alongside the photo of himself with Bubka.
In the meantime, it’s getting the wrist healthy and preparing for the trip to the World Masters in Gothenburg.
“Hopefully everything will be healthy and good to go,” Clodfelter said.
While Clodfelter will be the top seed, he has the complicating factor of not being able to use his own poles for the Aug. 22 competition.
“It’s too expensive to fly my poles over there. So I have to rent poles,” Clodfelter said. “It’s either going to be a really bad day or maybe I’ll be able to pull it off.”
“Pulling it off” could include not only winning the world championship but also setting a world record in the men’s 60-64 division. While the record of 4.32 meters (14 feet, 2 inches) is about another eight inches, Clodfelter didn’t get this far by thinking about what he can’t do.
“That’s not out of reach, honestly,” Clodfelter said. “That’s just a matter of if I’m not hurt and if I have a good day on poles I’m not familiar with.”